THE management of Kumasi Asante Kotoko say they are totally unfazed by calls by a former board member for a probe into their operations.
Speaking on behalf of management, Public Affairs Manager of Kotoko, Jarvis Peprah, told the Daily Graphic that the Dr K.K. Sarpong administration had not done anything wrong to fear a probe.
“We will welcome it even today, “ he said confidently.
Former board member, Alhaji Ahmed Bandoh, better known as Alhaji Bahmed, last week called for a probe into the financial administration of Asante Kotoko, alleging, among other things deals in sponsorships entered into by the club.
The allegation was a by-product of the rift between Bahmed and executive chairman, Dr Sarpong, which reached boiling point last week with accusations and counter accusations which sometimes turned personal.
According to Bahmed, who announced his resignation last Thursday as a result of the fracas with the Executive Chairman, certain officers in the club were fleecing the club by unduly benefiting from sponsorship deals.
But, in a reaction to the allegation, Mr Peprah told this paper that the statement by the former board member was unfortunate because as an insider, he (Bahmed) should have known the arrangements in the club with regard to sponsorships.
Mr Peprah explained that it was a policy in Asante Kotoko that anyone or entity who managed to get a sponsorship for the club is entitled to 10 per cent of the total deal.
Asked whether management members were included in the arrangement, he answered in the affirmative.
“Any management member who can get a sponsorship for the club is entitled to 10 per cent of the deal. This is institutionalised in the club,” he said.
Mr Peprah rejected a suggestion that such a situation amounted to conflict of interest.
He would, however, not confirm or deny that any official in the current administration had benefited from that arrangement.
The public affairs manager said the Dr Sarpong administration was very transparent and would never hide anything from the supporters.
Mr Peprah further dismissed an allegation of one-man show made against the executive chairman by Bahmed.
He insisted that Dr Sarpong had been a team player who respects the views of every member of the administration and supporters.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
WORK ON SOFOLINE INTERCHANGE SUSPENDED (PAGE 18, DEC 11, 2010)
CONSTRUCTION work on the Sofoline Interchange in Kumasi has stalled following the decision by the contractors, China Gio Construction Limited, to send the entire Ghanaian workers home because they do not have the money to pay them.
The company said the government had not paid them for work completed so far, and the company had no alternative than to ask the workers to go home.
Only the skeletal Chinese staff of the company are currently at post.
Already the project is behind schedule, and many residents in Kumasi have expressed concern about the snail pace at which the project is being executed.
The decision to send the workers home appeared to have heightened suspicion that the entire road project could suffer delay in completion.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Roads Director, Mr Theodore Quaye, confirmed that the contractors had complained about the delay in receiving payment for work done.
He told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the management of the company claimed they did not have money to pay the Ghanaian workers and have asked them to go home until government pays for work done so far.
The company, he said, had prepared certificates for completed works but money was yet to be released to pay them.
Mr Quaye, however, indicated that officials in Accra were doing everything possible to pay the contractor to enable work to resume fully.
“I have had assurances from my bosses and there is every indication that the contractor will be paid in due course,” he said.
Mr Quaye also refuted allegations in Kumasi that the drawings for the Sofoline Roundabout-Abuakwa road had been altered from the original six-lane to four because the government claimed it had no money for the original project.
According to him, the project still remained six-lane and nothing would be done to change it.
The company said the government had not paid them for work completed so far, and the company had no alternative than to ask the workers to go home.
Only the skeletal Chinese staff of the company are currently at post.
Already the project is behind schedule, and many residents in Kumasi have expressed concern about the snail pace at which the project is being executed.
The decision to send the workers home appeared to have heightened suspicion that the entire road project could suffer delay in completion.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Roads Director, Mr Theodore Quaye, confirmed that the contractors had complained about the delay in receiving payment for work done.
He told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the management of the company claimed they did not have money to pay the Ghanaian workers and have asked them to go home until government pays for work done so far.
The company, he said, had prepared certificates for completed works but money was yet to be released to pay them.
Mr Quaye, however, indicated that officials in Accra were doing everything possible to pay the contractor to enable work to resume fully.
“I have had assurances from my bosses and there is every indication that the contractor will be paid in due course,” he said.
Mr Quaye also refuted allegations in Kumasi that the drawings for the Sofoline Roundabout-Abuakwa road had been altered from the original six-lane to four because the government claimed it had no money for the original project.
According to him, the project still remained six-lane and nothing would be done to change it.
GUNMAN KILLED (1B, DEC 11, 2010)
Story: Kwame Asare Boadu, Kumasi
A suspected armed robber was killed and four others arrested in two separate incidents in Kumasi in which the robbers engaged the police in shoot-outs.
In the first instance, policemen from the Buffalo Unit had moved in response to a distress call that armed robbers had besieged a house at Ayeduase, a suburb of Kumasi.
According to the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Patrick Timbillah, few metres away from the crime scene, they were met with gun-shots from the robbers and the policemen responded.
In the exchanges, one of the robbers was seriously injured, while three others escaped, but the injured one, identified as Nana Yaw, died on the way to hospital.
The second incident occurred at Atabrakaso, also in Kumasi, where the four suspects were arrested. Those arrested were identified as Moses Mumuni, 29, Kofi Kumi, 25, Osei Kofi, 31, and Kwabena Antwi, 25. They were said to have attacked the Hansol Mining Company in Kumasi.
Briefing journalists in Kumasi yesterday, DCOP Timbillah said in the Ayeduase encounter, the police received the call about 10:15 p.m. on Thursday and were on the scene within six minutes.
He said before he was pronounced dead, Nana Yaw confessed that he went on the operation with three others who managed to run away.
DCOP Timbillah further explained that Nana Yaw said two of his accomplices had in their possession two locally manufactured pistols while the other used a pump action gun.
He said when the police searched Nana Yaw, a knife and a toy pistol were found on him. The police also picked four spent cartridges at the crime scene.
DCOP Timbillah appealed to the general public, especially health facilities, to be on the look-out for persons with gun-shot wounds as the men were suspected to have been hit by bullets.
He also appealed to the general public to continue to volunteer information to the police to enable them to fight the menace of armed robbery.
A suspected armed robber was killed and four others arrested in two separate incidents in Kumasi in which the robbers engaged the police in shoot-outs.
In the first instance, policemen from the Buffalo Unit had moved in response to a distress call that armed robbers had besieged a house at Ayeduase, a suburb of Kumasi.
According to the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Patrick Timbillah, few metres away from the crime scene, they were met with gun-shots from the robbers and the policemen responded.
In the exchanges, one of the robbers was seriously injured, while three others escaped, but the injured one, identified as Nana Yaw, died on the way to hospital.
The second incident occurred at Atabrakaso, also in Kumasi, where the four suspects were arrested. Those arrested were identified as Moses Mumuni, 29, Kofi Kumi, 25, Osei Kofi, 31, and Kwabena Antwi, 25. They were said to have attacked the Hansol Mining Company in Kumasi.
Briefing journalists in Kumasi yesterday, DCOP Timbillah said in the Ayeduase encounter, the police received the call about 10:15 p.m. on Thursday and were on the scene within six minutes.
He said before he was pronounced dead, Nana Yaw confessed that he went on the operation with three others who managed to run away.
DCOP Timbillah further explained that Nana Yaw said two of his accomplices had in their possession two locally manufactured pistols while the other used a pump action gun.
He said when the police searched Nana Yaw, a knife and a toy pistol were found on him. The police also picked four spent cartridges at the crime scene.
DCOP Timbillah appealed to the general public, especially health facilities, to be on the look-out for persons with gun-shot wounds as the men were suspected to have been hit by bullets.
He also appealed to the general public to continue to volunteer information to the police to enable them to fight the menace of armed robbery.
Friday, December 10, 2010
BAHMED QUITS KOTOKO BOARD (GRAPHIC SPORTS, BACK PAGE, DEC 10, 2010)
ALL is certainly not well within the top management of struggling club Kumasi Asante Kotoko as board member, Alhaji Ahmed Bandoh, aka Alhaji Bahmed, has resigned following a face-off with Executive Chairman, Dr K.K. Sarpong.
Alhaji Bahmed told the Graphic Sports yesterday that he could never be part of the board because of the “baseless allegations” the Executive Chairman had made against him.
On Wednesday, Dr Sarpong took a swipe at Alhaji Bahmed over comments he made, citing interference in his work as board member in charge of operations.
Dr Sarpong swore to “cut him to size” because his activities were counter-productive to the club.
Dr Sarpong called on the club’s supporters to be on the look out for “saboteurs like Alhaji Bahmed”.
His fiery comments were in reaction to an interview Alhaji Bahmed granted to a Kumasi-based radio station, Angel FM, where he alleged that a certain management member was usurping his (Bahmed’s) role as a board member in charge of operations.
He further stated that it appeared the financial support he was giving to the club was not being appreciated and threatened to resign if things did not change in Kotoko.
But in a swift and apparently furious reaction, Mr Sarpong said it was dishonest on the part of the board member to portray himself as a financier of the club.
He called his bluff to resign from the board. “He should go now and the club will not lose anything.”
Dr Sarpong maintained that Alhaji Bahmed was a board member and it would be wrong for him to assume the role of a management member.
No one, he said, had assigned any operations role to him, and if he wants to become a management member, he should descend from the board.
“And even then, can he be trusted?” the Executive Chairman queried.
He accused the board member of allowing former coach, Ebo Mends, to go on radio to “talk loose” about the club.
Dr Sarpong indicated that he (Sarpong) was spending his time, energy and resources to help bring Kotoko back to shape and would not allow people who had milked the club by inflating contract fees of players in the past to have their way again.
He fell short of naming such persons and said, “they bought a player for GH¢20,000 but collected GH¢40,000.”
He emphasised that some people wanted to frustrate him to resign his position as Executive Chairman but said that would never happen.
“I have resolved to help bring Kotoko back to winning ways and I will ensure that I succeed,” he said.
He said, “the signings that we are making will help us in the second round of the Premier League.”
But speaking to this paper yesterday, Alhaji Bahmed said he had never been part of any negotiations for the purchase of players.
According to him negotiations were done by Dr Sarpong, Wilberforce Mfum and Owusu Ansah, “so I am surprised that I am being accused of inflating contract sums.”
He challenged Dr Sarpong to prove the allegations against him “else I would go out to expose him for the negative things he is doing to bring Kotoko down.”
He said since he became a board member, he had been paying $200 to the best Kotoko player in any match the team played.
“I am doing all this to help motivate players, and I’m shocked that people do not appreciate them but rather give me a bad name,” he said.
Alhaji Bahmed described himself as a self-made man and “not one of those people who have never worked for themselves but only depended on government work to boast that they have money.”
In a separate interview with Graphic Sports’ Daniel Kenu in Accra yesterday, Alhaji Bahmed accused Dr Sarpong of stifling the progress of the team, while alleging that the chairman had hijacked Kotoko together with his special aide, Kwame Baah-Nuakoh.
Cataloguing a tall list of allegations, Alhaji Bahmed, as the travel and tour magnate is popularly known, said his views were not respected as a board member and therefore felt slighted and stabbed at the back.
Alhaji Bahmed had earlier contemplated on resigning from the club but put it on hold to enable him to discuss it with the spiritual head of the club, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
“Now, I think I need to call it quits and focus on my business,” he said.
He claimed, for instance, that Dr Sarpong and Baah-Nuakoh unilaterally hired the new coach, Bogdan Korak, without recourse to the rest of the board members.
He alleged that as a result of the board chairman’s naivety in football, he had surrounded himself with people who ill-advise him against the progress of the club.
Alhaji Bahmed told the Graphic Sports yesterday that he could never be part of the board because of the “baseless allegations” the Executive Chairman had made against him.
On Wednesday, Dr Sarpong took a swipe at Alhaji Bahmed over comments he made, citing interference in his work as board member in charge of operations.
Dr Sarpong swore to “cut him to size” because his activities were counter-productive to the club.
Dr Sarpong called on the club’s supporters to be on the look out for “saboteurs like Alhaji Bahmed”.
His fiery comments were in reaction to an interview Alhaji Bahmed granted to a Kumasi-based radio station, Angel FM, where he alleged that a certain management member was usurping his (Bahmed’s) role as a board member in charge of operations.
He further stated that it appeared the financial support he was giving to the club was not being appreciated and threatened to resign if things did not change in Kotoko.
But in a swift and apparently furious reaction, Mr Sarpong said it was dishonest on the part of the board member to portray himself as a financier of the club.
He called his bluff to resign from the board. “He should go now and the club will not lose anything.”
Dr Sarpong maintained that Alhaji Bahmed was a board member and it would be wrong for him to assume the role of a management member.
No one, he said, had assigned any operations role to him, and if he wants to become a management member, he should descend from the board.
“And even then, can he be trusted?” the Executive Chairman queried.
He accused the board member of allowing former coach, Ebo Mends, to go on radio to “talk loose” about the club.
Dr Sarpong indicated that he (Sarpong) was spending his time, energy and resources to help bring Kotoko back to shape and would not allow people who had milked the club by inflating contract fees of players in the past to have their way again.
He fell short of naming such persons and said, “they bought a player for GH¢20,000 but collected GH¢40,000.”
He emphasised that some people wanted to frustrate him to resign his position as Executive Chairman but said that would never happen.
“I have resolved to help bring Kotoko back to winning ways and I will ensure that I succeed,” he said.
He said, “the signings that we are making will help us in the second round of the Premier League.”
But speaking to this paper yesterday, Alhaji Bahmed said he had never been part of any negotiations for the purchase of players.
According to him negotiations were done by Dr Sarpong, Wilberforce Mfum and Owusu Ansah, “so I am surprised that I am being accused of inflating contract sums.”
He challenged Dr Sarpong to prove the allegations against him “else I would go out to expose him for the negative things he is doing to bring Kotoko down.”
He said since he became a board member, he had been paying $200 to the best Kotoko player in any match the team played.
“I am doing all this to help motivate players, and I’m shocked that people do not appreciate them but rather give me a bad name,” he said.
Alhaji Bahmed described himself as a self-made man and “not one of those people who have never worked for themselves but only depended on government work to boast that they have money.”
In a separate interview with Graphic Sports’ Daniel Kenu in Accra yesterday, Alhaji Bahmed accused Dr Sarpong of stifling the progress of the team, while alleging that the chairman had hijacked Kotoko together with his special aide, Kwame Baah-Nuakoh.
Cataloguing a tall list of allegations, Alhaji Bahmed, as the travel and tour magnate is popularly known, said his views were not respected as a board member and therefore felt slighted and stabbed at the back.
Alhaji Bahmed had earlier contemplated on resigning from the club but put it on hold to enable him to discuss it with the spiritual head of the club, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
“Now, I think I need to call it quits and focus on my business,” he said.
He claimed, for instance, that Dr Sarpong and Baah-Nuakoh unilaterally hired the new coach, Bogdan Korak, without recourse to the rest of the board members.
He alleged that as a result of the board chairman’s naivety in football, he had surrounded himself with people who ill-advise him against the progress of the club.
NEW PROJECT UNDER OTUMFUO CHARITY FUND (PAGE 29, DEC 8, 2010)
THE Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Charity Fund has rolled out a five-year nationwide hand washing with soap project for pupils in basic schools.
An initial 1,000 schools in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Volta, Upper East, Upper West Central and Western Regions have been selected for the project.
The beneficiaries will be expanded to 500 more schools by the end of the project.
Managers of the Foundation said the project was in line with the vision of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to ensure healthy living for Ghanaian children.
The project, which is being undertaken in conjunction with PZ Cussons Ghana Limited, will see each beneficiary school provided with special buckets known as “adepa buckets” affixed with water containers, and cakes of soap to be used for the hand washing.
The buckets will be placed at strategic points in the schools and labelled, “Hand-washing Station” while colourful pictures depicting how to properly wash the hand would be pasted at the washing points.
PZ had committed themselves to spend about GH¢50,000 for the five-year duration of the project subject to extension.
The Executive Director of the foundation, Dr Thomas Agyarko-Poku, told journalists at the pre-launch media briefing in Kumasi that the project also formed part of the water and sanitation component of the foundation’s activities.
Dr Agyarko-Poku stated that the Ministries of Education and Health had been contacted to help ensure that the project become successful.
“Teachers will be encouraged to supervise children to wash their hands before and after meals, and after visiting the washroom.” he said.
The executive director said the Foundation did not restrict its activities to areas that fell under the authority of Otumfuo.
“We believe in the vision of Otumfuo and want the foundation to be seen as a Ghanaian institution serving all the people of the country,” he said.
He stressed that his outfit would work extra hard to ensure that the project was well established in schools.
Dr Agyarko-Poku said the foundation was discussing with other partners to provide polytanks to some schools in the country.
Besides they were in talks with Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited to construct boreholes in some communities in the country.
He indicated that the Otumfuo Education Fund was undergoing review and that from the next academic advertisements would be put out for people to apply for support. The names of beneficiaries would also be published.
Dr Agyarko-Poku stated that the scholarship would not be limited to schools in Ghana and that plans were complete for scholarships to be awarded to study medicine and other disciplines in Germany and other countries.
An initial 1,000 schools in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Eastern, Volta, Upper East, Upper West Central and Western Regions have been selected for the project.
The beneficiaries will be expanded to 500 more schools by the end of the project.
Managers of the Foundation said the project was in line with the vision of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to ensure healthy living for Ghanaian children.
The project, which is being undertaken in conjunction with PZ Cussons Ghana Limited, will see each beneficiary school provided with special buckets known as “adepa buckets” affixed with water containers, and cakes of soap to be used for the hand washing.
The buckets will be placed at strategic points in the schools and labelled, “Hand-washing Station” while colourful pictures depicting how to properly wash the hand would be pasted at the washing points.
PZ had committed themselves to spend about GH¢50,000 for the five-year duration of the project subject to extension.
The Executive Director of the foundation, Dr Thomas Agyarko-Poku, told journalists at the pre-launch media briefing in Kumasi that the project also formed part of the water and sanitation component of the foundation’s activities.
Dr Agyarko-Poku stated that the Ministries of Education and Health had been contacted to help ensure that the project become successful.
“Teachers will be encouraged to supervise children to wash their hands before and after meals, and after visiting the washroom.” he said.
The executive director said the Foundation did not restrict its activities to areas that fell under the authority of Otumfuo.
“We believe in the vision of Otumfuo and want the foundation to be seen as a Ghanaian institution serving all the people of the country,” he said.
He stressed that his outfit would work extra hard to ensure that the project was well established in schools.
Dr Agyarko-Poku said the foundation was discussing with other partners to provide polytanks to some schools in the country.
Besides they were in talks with Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited to construct boreholes in some communities in the country.
He indicated that the Otumfuo Education Fund was undergoing review and that from the next academic advertisements would be put out for people to apply for support. The names of beneficiaries would also be published.
Dr Agyarko-Poku stated that the scholarship would not be limited to schools in Ghana and that plans were complete for scholarships to be awarded to study medicine and other disciplines in Germany and other countries.
CUSTOMS WORKERS URGED TO REDOUBLE EFFORTS (PAGE 42, DEC 8, 2010)
MEMBERS of the Senior Staff Association of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Service (GRA) have ended their 20th annual national delegates conference at Ejisu, near Kumasi with a call on staff to redouble their efforts at revenue collection.
The chairman of the association, Mr Junior Appiah-Warden, said at the conference that a lot depended on the customs division of GRA to help government advance its development initiatives, stressing that the division could, therefore, not afford to play to the gallery.
He stated that the customs division was “way behind this year’s national revenue target, yet in Kumasi alone, there were over 200 seized saloon cars and a fleet of mini buses, which could be auctioned to rake in revenue for the state, had been sitting there and getting rotten.
Appiah-Warden, therefore, called on management to conduct auctions of seized items, especially hundreds of vehicles at various customs posts in the country, to help the government get the needed revenue to undertake its infrastructure and other economic activities to better the living standards of the people.
The three-day conference was on the theme: “Senior Staff Association of Customs Division of GRA: Contemporary Issues.”
Mr Appiah-Warden mentioned the negative media attention the division had received this year and said ”given the circumstances under which we work, we are not as dirty as it is often portrayed.”
He expressed concern that for three years, customs officers had not been provided with uniforms and their accoutrements, and, therefore, called for the retooling of officers to enable them to perform.
The Commissioner General of the GRA, Mr George Blankson, emphasised that the integration process of the GRA would not lead to loss of jobs in any of the three affected revenue agencies.
Agencies affected by the integration are the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service.
Allaying the growing fears of workers within the agencies, Mr Blankson said the process was being approached in a way to ensure that no member of staff would also suffer any loss in rank or diminution of emoluments.
He said labour was deeply involved in the change process and that workers needed not to fear about the security of their jobs.
Mr Blankson stated that integration would involve the redefinition of job schedules leading to review of staff placement and transfer and reassignment of staff to the various divisions, adding that conditions of service would be enhanced under the GRA.
He informed the conference that members of the various associations within the GRA would be placed in three different sections, namely customs division, domestic tax division and support services division.
The board chairman of GRA, Mr Ernest Kwesie, said the authority was determined to achieve the national revenue target.
Consequently, he said, it was tightening up tax revenue activities between now and December 31 at the ports, harbours and border posts.
Mr Kwesie gave the assurance that the board and management of the GRA would ensure that the appropriate orders and operational instructions were prepared to enhance the implementation of the customs procedures relating to the budget.
The chairman of the association, Mr Junior Appiah-Warden, said at the conference that a lot depended on the customs division of GRA to help government advance its development initiatives, stressing that the division could, therefore, not afford to play to the gallery.
He stated that the customs division was “way behind this year’s national revenue target, yet in Kumasi alone, there were over 200 seized saloon cars and a fleet of mini buses, which could be auctioned to rake in revenue for the state, had been sitting there and getting rotten.
Appiah-Warden, therefore, called on management to conduct auctions of seized items, especially hundreds of vehicles at various customs posts in the country, to help the government get the needed revenue to undertake its infrastructure and other economic activities to better the living standards of the people.
The three-day conference was on the theme: “Senior Staff Association of Customs Division of GRA: Contemporary Issues.”
Mr Appiah-Warden mentioned the negative media attention the division had received this year and said ”given the circumstances under which we work, we are not as dirty as it is often portrayed.”
He expressed concern that for three years, customs officers had not been provided with uniforms and their accoutrements, and, therefore, called for the retooling of officers to enable them to perform.
The Commissioner General of the GRA, Mr George Blankson, emphasised that the integration process of the GRA would not lead to loss of jobs in any of the three affected revenue agencies.
Agencies affected by the integration are the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service.
Allaying the growing fears of workers within the agencies, Mr Blankson said the process was being approached in a way to ensure that no member of staff would also suffer any loss in rank or diminution of emoluments.
He said labour was deeply involved in the change process and that workers needed not to fear about the security of their jobs.
Mr Blankson stated that integration would involve the redefinition of job schedules leading to review of staff placement and transfer and reassignment of staff to the various divisions, adding that conditions of service would be enhanced under the GRA.
He informed the conference that members of the various associations within the GRA would be placed in three different sections, namely customs division, domestic tax division and support services division.
The board chairman of GRA, Mr Ernest Kwesie, said the authority was determined to achieve the national revenue target.
Consequently, he said, it was tightening up tax revenue activities between now and December 31 at the ports, harbours and border posts.
Mr Kwesie gave the assurance that the board and management of the GRA would ensure that the appropriate orders and operational instructions were prepared to enhance the implementation of the customs procedures relating to the budget.
VALUE SYSTEMS OF RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY ...Otumfuo urges Ghanaians (PAGE 12, DEC 8, 2010)
THE Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has enjoined Ghanaians to return to their rich value systems by rejecting political intolerance, intemperate language, disrespect for authority and divisiveness.
He said the emergence of the phenomena of serial callers and foot soldiers in the country’s body politics was not doing the nation any good and blamed politicians for that trend.
The Asantehene, who was speaking at a durbar he organised in honour of awardees of the 2010 Millennium Excellence Awards at the forecourt of the Manhyia Palace, last Monday, challenged politicians to have the welfare of the youth at heart instead of using them to achieve power only to neglect them.
He explained that the seeming lack of sustainable programmes to address the problems of the youth had compelled them to do everything necessary to make ends meet.
He said it was disturbing to see young people who should have been engaged in productive activities creating fear and panic in the country under the banner of foot soldiers and serial callers, a phenomenon that he said was perhaps known to only Ghana.
He described, as worrying, people's negative understanding and practice of politics and said that had become the greatest threat to the fabric of the society.
"Politics has become the shortest route to riches and patronage and people will do whatever is necessary to get there. It is a win and lord it over the people (issue) but not to change the destiny of the people."
Otumfuo Osei Tutu said the development was a disincentive to national development and must be checked before it plunged the country into crisis.
The Asantehene, who is the life patron of the Millennium Excellence Awards, said sometimes it appeared politics was taking the nation towards the wrong path.
He descended heavily on people who saw politics as the shortest route to riches rather than an avenue to serve their country.
He said many people were entering politics in the country because they found it a lucrative venture, especially when one’s political party was in power.
The Asantehene indicated that in their quest to make money from politics, politicians would do everything possible to win power.
He observed that greed, avarice and nepotism were eroding the achievements Ghana had made as a country.
He also expressed deep concern about the way politics was polarising the country, stressing that Ghana needed to learn from other countries where in spite of political differences, unity amongst the people remained the key word.
Commending the award winners for their tremendous achievements in their fields of endeavour, he said many of them made it outside politics and theirs must be an example for the youth of the country.
He noted that the gradual destruction of the value system had resulted in young people publicly insulting the elderly.
“We are losing our values fast. Our family system is being eroded and now respect for the elderly is out of our vocabulary,” he said.
The Asantehene referred to the recent burning of an old woman to death, by some people on suspicion that she was a witch and said: “If our value system was to be working, the perpetrators wouldn’t have taken that line.”
He called for the revival of the spirit of volunteerism, saying it was one sure way of bringing development to the communities.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu stated that Africa had hardworking sons and daughters who could be relied on to help change the development face of the continent.
He commended the awardees for demonstrating that Africa had something good to offer.
Africa, he said, must set its sight very high because it would be suicidal to always play second fiddle to the rest of the world.
He said the emergence of the phenomena of serial callers and foot soldiers in the country’s body politics was not doing the nation any good and blamed politicians for that trend.
The Asantehene, who was speaking at a durbar he organised in honour of awardees of the 2010 Millennium Excellence Awards at the forecourt of the Manhyia Palace, last Monday, challenged politicians to have the welfare of the youth at heart instead of using them to achieve power only to neglect them.
He explained that the seeming lack of sustainable programmes to address the problems of the youth had compelled them to do everything necessary to make ends meet.
He said it was disturbing to see young people who should have been engaged in productive activities creating fear and panic in the country under the banner of foot soldiers and serial callers, a phenomenon that he said was perhaps known to only Ghana.
He described, as worrying, people's negative understanding and practice of politics and said that had become the greatest threat to the fabric of the society.
"Politics has become the shortest route to riches and patronage and people will do whatever is necessary to get there. It is a win and lord it over the people (issue) but not to change the destiny of the people."
Otumfuo Osei Tutu said the development was a disincentive to national development and must be checked before it plunged the country into crisis.
The Asantehene, who is the life patron of the Millennium Excellence Awards, said sometimes it appeared politics was taking the nation towards the wrong path.
He descended heavily on people who saw politics as the shortest route to riches rather than an avenue to serve their country.
He said many people were entering politics in the country because they found it a lucrative venture, especially when one’s political party was in power.
The Asantehene indicated that in their quest to make money from politics, politicians would do everything possible to win power.
He observed that greed, avarice and nepotism were eroding the achievements Ghana had made as a country.
He also expressed deep concern about the way politics was polarising the country, stressing that Ghana needed to learn from other countries where in spite of political differences, unity amongst the people remained the key word.
Commending the award winners for their tremendous achievements in their fields of endeavour, he said many of them made it outside politics and theirs must be an example for the youth of the country.
He noted that the gradual destruction of the value system had resulted in young people publicly insulting the elderly.
“We are losing our values fast. Our family system is being eroded and now respect for the elderly is out of our vocabulary,” he said.
The Asantehene referred to the recent burning of an old woman to death, by some people on suspicion that she was a witch and said: “If our value system was to be working, the perpetrators wouldn’t have taken that line.”
He called for the revival of the spirit of volunteerism, saying it was one sure way of bringing development to the communities.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu stated that Africa had hardworking sons and daughters who could be relied on to help change the development face of the continent.
He commended the awardees for demonstrating that Africa had something good to offer.
Africa, he said, must set its sight very high because it would be suicidal to always play second fiddle to the rest of the world.
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